Round 12 of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship takes place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Situated in the heart of the Ardennes forest between Liège and Brussels, the track is regarded as one of Formula One’s most challenging and exciting races by drivers and fans alike. The Spa circuit is unique in that the weather can be particularly unpredictable, ranging from blazing sunshine to heavy showers in a short period of time.

The track features 19 sweeping medium and high-speed corners connected by fast straights. Of the 10 left and 9 right turns, the most challenging for drivers is the famed Eau Rouge. Approached at over 300km/h after a plunging exit out of turn two, drivers experience up to -3.5 of vertical G forces.

At 7.004km the circuit is the longest of the championship and will test every aspect of vehicle handling. Teams will have to work hard on vehicle set-up to ensure a competitive edge in the quick sections as well as the slow corners.

Changes to the circuit since 2008

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2008

- Higher debris fences have been installed in front of the grandstands on the right between turns 7 and 8.

- The dip in the kerb on the exit of turn 9 has been rectified.

- An extra opening has been provided for the recovery of cars around the outside of turn 11.

- The guardrail on the left on the exit of turn 15 has been moved slightly further from the track.

- The white lines on each edge of the track have been repainted using non-slip paint.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT – INTERESTING FACTS

- At one stage in its history it rained for twenty years in a row at the Belgian Grand Prix.

- The Raidillon–Eau Rouge corner is not a natural curve. It was created in 1939 to make the circuit more exciting for spectators and drivers.

- The track features varying altitudes ranging from the lowest: Eau Rogue at 391m to the highest: Les Combes at 470m.

- Over 100 medical staff will be on standby at the event.

CIRCUIT DATA

Length of lap: 7.004km
Offset: 0.124km
Total number of race laps: 44
Total race distance: 308.052km
Speed limits in the pit lane: 60km/h during practice sessions; 100km/h during qualifying and race

2:33 Webber moves into second despite going quickest in S2. A 1:48.254

2:34 Now Raikkonen moves into second with a 1:48.238. Badoer back on the track, lets see how much he improves

2:35 Now Webber goes fastest with a 1:47.830. Again quickest in S2 with a 46.8

2:37 Hamilton goes quickest only for Webber to better that with a 1:47.496

2:37 Badoer remains in 20th and 3.639 seconds off the pace!

2:40 Trulli moves into 3rd with a 1:47.837

2:41 Alonso is back on the track and looks to improve. Trulli now up into second

2:43 Vettel up into 3rd with a 1:47.680

2:45 Halfway into the session and the order is: Webber, Trulli, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Buemi, Button, Raikkonen, Heidfeld and Barrichello

2:46 [Comment From Donatas ]
Finally I found a webpage, where I can get results Please do not stop commenting of what you see on the track - I am at the job, where I can't see the news..
[Ed] No worries, we'll be covering all the sessions. Hope you enjoy it.

2:47 Badoer has improved his time but remains in 20th and 2.593 seconds off the pace

2:50 Sutil is up into 3rd with a 1:47.579

2:51 [Comment From Guest ]
Enjoy it? That's gonna be my favorite webpage Because on official site I can't see live results because of flash player disabled and I'm not talking about live video
[Ed] We are glad to be of help

2:52 Top 13 are separated by just 0.841 seconds!

2:55 Glock into second with a 1:47.516

2:58 The top 3 drivers are under two tenths away from the Pole time from last year (1:47.338)

2:58 Alguersuari up into 4th and just 0.095 off Webber's time. Impressive!

3:04 It appears that this track doesn't suit the Williams car with Rosberg in 17th and Nakajima in 19th (22 and 24 laps respectively)

3:05 Fisichella is down in 18th with only 13 laps. Looks like there is a problem with his car

3:07 So far, not much improvement from Badoer. 21 laps and still over 2.5 seconds off the pace. I wonder if Ferrari replace him tomorrow ?

3:12 [Comment From Donatas ]
Yea, it seems that if not tommorow, then at next GP he's gonna be replaced. And somewhy I think it's gonna be Sutil or n. Piquet. By the way, where's Brawn's and Force India's drivers?
[Ed]Ferrari have many options. I suspect they will give Gene a go

3:14 Currently Button is 13th and Barrichello is 15th. Sutil is 14th and Fisichella is 19th

3:15 The top 10 are now separated by under half a second! Qualifying will be another close affair tomorrow!

3:15 [Comment From Guest ]
can he be replaced tommorow?
[Ed] I believe so. As long as it is before qualifying

Barrichello lightest followed by Fiscihella and Glock then Kubica.
Trulli and Heidfeld are the heaviest of the top 5.
Raikkonen in 6th is also reasonably heavy and with KERS he could have a good chance

1:44 [Comment From Guest ]
backing Force India [Ed] Good luck. It will be a popular victory if Fisichella pulls it off

1:46 15 minutes to formation lap

1:47 Barrichello who starts from 4th is surprisingly the lightest. Fisichella and Glock are also light

1:48 Trulli, Heidfeld and Raikkonen all have a good chance of winning the race as they have a reasonably heavy fuel load

1:49 Vettel not looking too bad either

1:50 It would be a dream result for Force India to win this race. They have yet to score a single point

1:51 10 minutes to formation lap

1:54 [Comment From rahulbamal ]
What are the chances according to you for Force India winning this? [Ed] Fisichella is a good driver so one can never discount him but weight adjusted he is actually 4th. However if he can stay in the lead and pull a gap then he could win it.

2:00 Air temperature is 18 degres while track temperature is 31 degrees

2:00 Formation lap underway!

2:02 [Comment From rahulbamal ]
Should Fisi be racing heavy according to you? is FI making a mistake? Doesn't lighter car going to make him faster? [Ed] Sure but if the guy behind is stays with you and is lapping 2 or 3 laps later then he would be passed at the pit stop

2:03 Badoer is starting 20th and last and I dare say, this will be his last race for Ferrari

2:03 Fisichella back at the starting grid!

2:04 Lights!

2:05 Fisichella has a good start. Barrichello didn't

2:05 Cars everywhere. Multicar collision!

2:07 Raikkonen was flying up into second, went wide

2:08 Button seems to have been hit from behind by Grosjean, both are out. Hamilton got caught up with them somehow and so did Alguersuari

2:38 [Comment From rahulbamal ]
If Fisi pitted with Kimi then what is the use of kimi travelling heavy and Fisi clearly got the advantage of travelling light [Ed] Teams sometimes bring their cars in early to avoid traffic

2:39 Rosberg now leads (yet to stop) from Raikkonen and Fisichella. Alonso in 4th (yet to stop)

2:40 [Comment From Puneet ]
wats the current position and time difference?

3:34 [Comment From Omair ]
who could have thought that kimi or ferrari would win a race this season??? with complete dominance from the Brawns, thn red bull n thn by Mclaren... n guess what, ferrari wins the race that is the daddy of all other races... go kimi go...

3:37 Congratulations to Raikkonen, Fisichella and Vettel. They all drove well today

4:11 [Comment From dj R ]
kimi to leave ferrari at the end of 2009? [Ed] It is becoming stronger by the day

4:13 [Comment From dj R ]
wonder which team he will go to next.. any thoughts? [Ed] McLaren most likely although a straight swap with Renault is also possible

Congratulations to Kimi Raikkonen on winning the Belgian Grand Prix. It was his first win since Spain 2008. He managed to get through the drama of the first lap and get Fisichella at the restart. He couldn't pull out a gap but still managed to win.
Fisichella was impressive all weekend and to nearly win the race in the Force India was special. He didn't slow down the field at the restart and that may have allowed Raikkonen to be too close to him and then pass him
Vettel also did well to finish on the podium. When he doesn't have problems, he impresses but his engine problems will cause him places at the final races.
Good races from Kubica and Heidfeld. The only team to have both drivers in the points was BMW Sauber. One would have expected Heidfeld to do a bit better though given his fuel load
Kovalainen started from 15th and ended up 6th. Not a bad result although that may be a bit late to retain his seat at McLaren for next year
Barrichello had a problem at the start yet again. He did well to recover and score 2 points even with a half blown engine!
And Rosberg once again managed to score points when clearly the car wasn't suited for this track. He needs a quick car

While this wasn't a good result for Button who retired, non of his rivals scored maximum points and he still has a commanding lead.